Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Flourish for the Players (Shakespeare's Contemporaries)
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 30631
Module Lead	Toria Johnson
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	‘Flourish for the Players’ will offer students an opportunity to study the other people who were writing plays for performance in the age of Shakespeare. Over the semester, we will consider the work of Shakespeare’s rivals, his collaborators, and his biggest influences. Taking in examples of both comedy and tragedy (written by anyone but Shakespeare), this module will provide a full sense of the themes, language, and look of English Renaissance drama. Authors/texts studied on this module may include: Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, Tamburlaine pt. 1 John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, The White Devil Ben Jonson, Bartholomew Fair Francis Beaumont, Knight of the Burning Pestle John Fletcher, The Woman’s Prize, or The Tamer Tamed Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker, The Roaring Girl
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate a direct knowledge of the set texts, gained by close reading of those texts and reading of supplementary primary and secondary material. show the ability independently to identify and undertake appropriate secondary reading on the drama of Shakespeare’s contemporaries. Students will demonstrate this research either by entering into explicit debate with some of the secondary literature, or by exhibiting a sense of the historical reception of the primary texts. use an appropriate critical terminology for discussing the drama of the period. demonstrate the ability to analyse problems and information effectively and to communicate solutions persuasively in writing, working to a deadline and using evidence to back up arguments
Assessment	30631-01 : 1,000 Word Close Reading : Coursework (30%) 30631-02 : 2,500 Word Essay : Coursework (70%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	1 x 1,000 word close-reading exercise (30%) 1 x 2,500 word essay (70%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List